Angelina Jolie's Speech on the Issue of Syrian Refugees

Angelina Jolie, U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, spoke in a U.N. Security Council meeting on the issue of millions of Syrian refugees. On this occasion, she criticized the UN for their failure when it comes to ending the war in Syria and helping the millions of innocent people. In her speech, she urged all fifteen members of the council to come together and negotiate a political solution for ending the war in Syria.

“We cannot look at Syria and the evil that has arisen from our indecision to act.

It is sickening to see thousands of refugees drowning on the doorstep of the world’s wealthiest continent,’ she said. No one should risk the lives of their children in this way. “(Jolie, 2015) She attacked UN for their inability to end the war in Syria, which is the main objective. During her speech, Angelina Jolie remained objective for the most part, because she “is here in behalf of all the Syrian people.

I am here for them because this is their United Nations”.(Jolie, 2015) She emphasizes that, in United Nations, all people and countries are equal and that the purpose of U.N. is to prevent and end conflict. However, they failed to do this in Syria, and the problem is not lack of information, since they know in excruciating detail what is happening in Homes or Allepo.

The main problem is lack of political will to approach to solving of Syrian conflict. Their audience or listeners are members of the United Nations, and millions of those watching on TV and this implies, and the millions of those who have read her speech in newspapers or portals, so her language is simple and understandable to everyone, although the context is political because she is addressing to members of the U.

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N., who are trying to access the solution of the conflict in Syria. Her speech is very well organized, accompanied by her visit to Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Malta in 2011, when the war was just starting, and her last visit from February, where she described an analogy of events.

Angelina Jolie mentioned that during her first visit in 2011, refugees were very hopeful and were expecting the action of the international community. She said that when she returned there, their hope was turning into anger, and the man approached to her, holding his baby in his arms, and asked her ” is this a terrorist? Is my son a terrorist?” Angelina Jolie visited the country 11 times since the crisis began and she also visited refugee camps in Syria and neighboring countries, which, according to her, contributed a lot to refugee wave, where 52 million people were displaced. She spoke about everyday life in Syria, and the use of chemical weapons, the bombing of hospitals, schools, and although the international humanitarian law prohibits it, in Syria it goes unpunished.

Although she criticized the UN in a summit and in her speech, as a member of the UN for 13 years, Angelina Jolie stresses that many people don’t realize how many people are fed, sheltered, protected, and educated by the United Nations, and all that is because of the fact that the bombing of a hospital in Syria goes unpunished. Here we can see her logos, where she speaks about the exact situation in Syria. But in addition to the logos, pathos is also present, and it is obvious when she mentions that she thinks of the mother, whose daughter was ripped from the family and was taken as a sex slave, when she says that she also thinks of Hala, who is living in refugee camp in Lebanon, and that she would like if some of them was present, since any one of them would describe the conflict much better than she ever could. In a speech referring to the termination of the war in Syria, Angelina put forward requests of the Syrian people to the international community. And they are call for unity that will bring justice and accountability for the Syrian people. She also highlights actions of neighboring states and their relation to refugees, such as Lebanon, and Turkey: “If we cannot end the conflict, we have an inescapable moral duty to help refugees and provide legal avenues to safety.” (Jolie 2015) And third, she calls U.N. to put an end to barbarism and that women should not be used as sex slaves, and that the international community needs to react much faster.

In conclusion, one can say that Angelina Jolie is emotionally attached to the refugees, having in mind that she visited Syria for 11 times, and that she came to the U.N. to present their pleas, since they were unable to come. She asked members of the international community to visit them and see the difficult situation these people are in. She pleads them to find a solution for resolving a conflict, since they have a power to solve international threats and security issues, but they haven’t used it yet.

References

1. Jolie, A. (2015) Speech to the UN security council, [Online] Available from: http://www.unrefugees.org/2015/04/angelina-jolies-speech-to-the-un-security-council/ [Accessed 07.11.2015].